Third Tuesday
by Crystal Delphina
Summary: KazaRiku-If he wasn't forced every third Tuesday to stock a particular item in the store, perhaps Kazahaya's life would be slightly more tolerable: Saiga wouldn't tease him as badly and maybe Rikuo would stop acting strangely. The day just needs to end.
1. Part I

Disclaimer: I by no means own any of the rights to the Clamp manga story of Legal Drug or its characters.

Third Tuesday

By Crystal Delphina

Completed: December 8, 2006

Revised: December 12, 2007

Part I of III

The third Tuesday of the month was a dreaded day in the Green Drugstore as far as one employee was concerned. Granted the day wasn't nearly as terrible as the second Sunday of the month when inventory had to be taken of the entire store; this sometimes resulted in the hired help not getting to bed until two in the morning. However the third Tuesday was not nearly as enjoyable as the first and fourth Monday of the month, days that provided them with lovely pay checks from their employer, though the amount on the check was sometimes disappointing. But when considering the entire spectrum, the third Tuesday was a day to be feared and generally was located towards the 'bad' end of the spectrum than that of the 'bearable'.

Not that Kudou Kazahaya was ever particularly excited - or willing for that matter - to get up on most days and head downstairs to his job. However, there was an added reluctance to rise from bed on the third Tuesday of the month, a reluctance that was so powerful he cursed the gods for his general good health and inability to be sick more often without having to fall into nearby bodies of water. As usual though, his prayers went unheeded and any temptation to just skip work for the day was quickly squashed, literally, when a shoe landed with a hard thud onto his chest.

"Rise and shine lovely. Time for work."

He knew who it was that had thrown the offending object; how could he have _not_ known considering there was only one suspect in the apartment other than himself? And although shoe throwing was a common morning occurrence that he should have grown accustomed to, Kazahaya still opened his eyes to shoot an accusatory glare at his smirking roommate Himura Rikuo who stood over him. He noted with some disdain that Rikuo had the other shoe waiting in his hand, ready to complete the pair. Although he considered yelling at the other dark haired young man, he valiantly fought the urge to do so as to avoid having two bruises on his chest. Instead, he settled for stating the obvious. "That hurt."

Seeing that his co-worker was now fully awake, Rikuo merely shrugged before dropping the shoe and turning to walk away, calling over his shoulder with a lazy drawl that Kazahaya needed to get dressed quickly so he could make breakfast. As tempting as it was to engage in a morning verbal spar, Rikuo had more important things to do, such as sit on the floor and read his newspaper.

With the departure of his personal nuisance, the caramel haired boy groaned and contemplated falling back asleep. Sadly he realized it was a pointless wish; aside from the fact that he needed money and that Rikuo would come back to pester him again, if only so he could get his breakfast, the thought of an irritated boss struck pure terror into his heart. He groaned again. He hated the third Tuesday of the month. Work was work though and there was no point in trying to avoid it. Sighing in defeat, he moved the covers aside as he got up and prepared to go about his day.

-- -- --

Now thinking about this rationally, work would start for him on any given day between nine and eleven AM depending on how lenient Kakei felt like being. He would usually get off between six and eight depending on when Kakei would choose to close the store for the day and how much clean up there was. There was an hour around lunch time that he was given for a break to not only eat but gain a needed second wind before all of the high school girls would arrive as soon as classes ended for the day. Sometimes, knowing it was going to be a particularly bad day for whatever reason, Kazahaya would spend the hour sipping tea and looking into his cup, trying to will away the dozen or so girls that would be arriving in flocks in a few mere hours. But all that is beside the point. The point is that really Kazahaya at the most only has to endure an eight to nine hour work day of mediocre labor. Well besides those so-called 'special jobs' that would pop up from time to time.

And of that eight to nine hour work period, only two hours of that were spent stocking on the third Tuesday of the month. So truth be told, that was a reasonable amount of time he had to endure and really should not have caused him as much distress as it seemed to. And stocking was part of the job description in working in a drug store; he was practically handed an apron and a box of new items his first day. However, with certain owners and certain owner's lazy lovers lurking around, it could make particular jobs down right horrendous to complete when you were as easily embarrassed as Kudou Kazahaya was. Plus there was always the threat of the malicious stoic co-worker who seemed to take particular pleasure in making life difficult for our uneasy hero.

He was waiting with nervous anticipation for Kakei to call him into his office to tell him the latest shipment had arrived and needed unpacking, as was custom every third Tuesday, as if Kazahaya didn't already have the day etched into his brain. Kazahaya would nod his head in agreement to his order, eyes downcast and depression over the task apparent, however Kakei would seem to take no notice. After that he would solemnly leave Kakei's office and head to the back of the store. The dreadful box would be there, waiting, unmarked and unassuming in all of its brown cardboard glory and Kazahaya would drag it out to the store front to the aisle the contents of the box belonged. Taking his box cutting knife - and secretly wishing to slash the damn thing to shreds - he would instead cut the tape and begin the process of opening the box and removing all of the pesky packing styrofoam peanuts that would stick to his skin and clothes. And thus would begin his two hour chore.

This chore typically did not start until ten.

Kazahaya looked nervously towards the clock and saw that it was 9:48. He began to sweep more frantically as his last 12 minutes began to tick down, hoping against hope that for some reason the shipment had been late or lost in transit all together. In fact, perhaps they wouldn't receive the box at all because for some miraculous reason the items wouldn't need to be restocked due to lack luster sales and therefore no need to re-order. Kazahaya paused in his mindless sweeping to gaze out the front of the store, hoping to see flying pigs or a large robot towering above the buildings around them defending his part of the city from whatever evil was plaguing Tokyo on TV these days.

At 9:52 he heard Kakei's voice calling. He resisted the urge to throw the broom at a nearby display and instead walked towards the voice, something akin to the 'Death March' playing in his head.

-- -- -- --

The white packing peanuts were indeed clinging to his shirt thanks to the wonders of static electricity as he methodically removed boxes from the large cardboard container. Then he would open _those_ boxes to take out even smaller boxes. Finally those small boxes would go on the shelves. But the amount of packaging required for shipping just those small boxes was quite preposterous and had Kazahaya wondering why they had to use the packing peanuts instead of the much easier to handle bubble wrap. Plus, even at the mature age of seventeen, he still enjoyed the task of popping the bubbles in the plastic.

Silently muttering curses to himself as he picked away another statically charged white styrofoam leech, Kazahaya wondered when the next stage of torture of the day would begin. That phase however was generally a large variable that fluctuated and never had a predictable start time. That was mainly due to the nature of the variable, which would sleep unexplainable amounts of time that seemed downright inhuman and impossible. However, eventually he would be roused from his sleep, seeing as it was his mission in life to find a way to make the poor teenage boy blush on a daily basis. His job was just made ten times easier on the third Tuesday of the month. And once the next stage had been initiated it seemed to have no completion time in sight.

Kazahaya looked around himself wearily, peering one way down the aisle and then the other, checking for his employer's partner who was bound to show up anytime now. He always did. Kazahaya had learned that the very first time he had had to unpack this particular shipment. Since that day, he had learned that these days were made purely for tormenting purposes at his expense.

"You look like a mouse looking out for the house cat."

Kazahaya visibly jumped, whipping his head around to face his roommate smirking down at him. He vaguely wondered how the hell Rikuo had managed to suddenly appear beside him in the previously vacant aisle (really, it had only been five seconds or so) without a sound but decided to not give the mystery any further thought. There were more important matters to handle at the moment, such as his current annoyance. His eyes narrowed slightly in irritation. "Keh, go away," Kazahaya muttered, turning back towards his job of stocking making his best attempt to ignore the other teen.

Suddenly there was an arm around his shoulder, fingers brushing against the exposed skin on his upper arm where the light blue t-shirt he wore fell short. Rikuo was crouched down beside him and had leaned towards him, his lips definitively close to Kazahaya's ear so he could feel the warm breath tickle the sensitive shell. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end from this close contact and he could feel the heat beginning to pool in his cheeks that would cause an inevitable flush. Why the hell did Rikuo feel the need to get so cozy all of a sudden?

"You know Kazahaya," Rikuo softly whispered, causing the poor boy to freeze in anticipation and his pupils began to widen. Rikuo paused, enjoying drawing out the suspense and watching the panic begin to form in Kazahaya's amber eyes. When Rikuo was satisfied in the mimicked expression of a deer trapped in the headlights that Kazahaya had managed to pull off, he gave a small wicked smirk the other couldn't see. "You're doing a wonderful job of stacking those boxes."

Rikuo was a truly irritating individual; what the hell did stacking boxes have to do with whispering in his ear like it was some big secret? And why had it required the dark haired teen to continue giving small light strokes to his arm? Quickly snapping out of his delirious state, Kazahaya growled and then shoved a hand towards the chest of his partner in an attempt to push him over. Rikuo easily avoided the attack however and instead rose from his stooped position in one fluid motion, giving a small laugh as he walked away.

"You! Shutup! And leave me alone!" Kazahaya shouted after him in irritation and turned back to the task at hand.

Although he was more than a little perturbed at his partner's actions - and Rikuo of course provided an excellent scapegoat in all things relating to pissing off Kazahaya - he was also rather miffed at his own heartbeat for speeding up. Despite the brunette's reluctance to admit this, he could no longer deny the fact that reactions in response to Rikuo were becoming increasingly more frequent and progressively worse. Increased heartbeat rates were beginning to be on the lower end of the scale of physical reactions; currently the top of the scale consisted of (sometimes rather pleasurable) shudders whenever the other boy touched him. Along with sometimes he wasn't sure if the blush that would creep up his neck and into his cheeks was really from embarrassment anymore; rather – anticipation and excitement.

Frankly it was getting ridiculous. And Kazahaya tried to make a point of avoiding ridiculous situations, although that had become a nearly impossible task with his current occupation.

To Rikuo's credit, in terms of observational skills, the boxes _were_ in rather straight perfectly perpendicular lines. He poked the corner of one box in retaliation, sending it slightly askew from the rest of its brethren – although no one would really notice.

Kazahaya continued stacking while grumbling about annoying pesky co-workers that caused him to blush and stupid Tuesdays.

-- -- -- --

Really, it did not make sense that stocking for these items occurred once a month. Because the truth of the matter was, although he was well aware he did not ring up every purchase in the store, it was on very rare occasions that Kazahaya ever did have a customer purchase these items. In fact, he hardly ever saw anyone even in this part of the aisle. So why the hell was he stocking these every month? It just didn't make any logical sense. Kazahaya glared down in disdain at a tube he held in his hand, mentally cursing the poor unassuming pharmacy item.

"I could always show you how to use it you know, Boy."

He froze, eyes wide, hand squeezing tightly around the tube in competing instinctual reactions of surprise and fear.

The time had come.

"I'm sure Kakei wouldn't mind... too much."

The earlier mild mental curses now transformed into urgent mental screams of panic. The young man quickly deduced there were three possible reactions: He wasn't sure whether to laugh nervously at the little joke (was it even a joke??), ignore the man all together, or sprint down the aisle and out of the store. He was sure he could make it at least half a block away before he was either tackled by his personal tormentor or the pesky guy he worked with. He realized with some disdain that both of those descriptions could fit any of the men who worked at Green Drugstore besides himself. Damn.

"Gah! Don't scare me like that!" And of course there was always secret option number four of acting in the 'typical Kazahaya' fashion: blush furiously, give a piercing scream, and wave your arms around in wild abandon from surprise and humiliation. Once he had given up on the option of the 'flight' response, he had gone with the remaining alternative of 'stand in fright'. Sadly, not attending high school meant Kazahaya was unaware that it was actually referred to as the '_fight_ or flight response', but that's just getting off topic. "Bastard!"

Oh right, and make sure to include a 'witty' insulting remark.

Chuckling, the bane of his existence that wore sunglasses sauntered down the aisle with an unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth without another word. Remember to keep in mind Kazahaya regarded himself as having two 'banes of existence': the one that constantly wore sunglasses and the one that he was relegated to share an apartment with. Anyway, encouraging his breathing to return to normal and his face to resume its natural color, Kazahaya slammed the tube onto the shelf besides the others. He knew that that would not be the last he saw of the man for the day. He needed to be ready next time. There was suddenly a half fearsome glint in his determined golden gaze.

-- -- -- -- --

This time he had been stocking the bottles when Saiga appeared and threw an arm around his shoulder grinning like a maniac. "Good thing I don't need those things. What about you Boy? Everything working properly for you?" Kazahaya glared at the bottle in his hand that promised miracles for those gullible people who were easily fooled by marketing gimmicks and flashy packaging. Anything that promised to make mountains out of mole hills in three seconds should be regarded as questionable at best. Kazahaya turned his head to fix the man beside him with an icy stare.

"Yes...everything...is…fine…" he gritted through his teeth in annoyance and slammed the bottle upon the shelf, the pills inside jostling around upon the impact.

"I don't know...you could always try it. On one hand, it might be fun, ya'know? Provide a few new sensations," Saiga mused, tilting his head up towards the florescent lights on the ceiling as if he was in deep contemplation about the meaning of life. The light haired brunette rolled his eyes at that thought and slammed another bottle down, trying to dislodge the heavy arm still relaxing on his shoulder. "I'm pretty sure I'm good on the sensations I have now, for free, and without risk to my health."

Even Kazahaya had to admit he was impressed by his quick and sharp response instead of floundering around in the abyss of sputtering and blushing as he normally did. Apparently the plan of mentally preparing himself for Saiga's embarrassing comments had actually paid off. He wasn't sure how, but it had. Score one for Kudou. He'd have to make sure to do this more often from now on.

Saiga looked down at him astonished as well before the corner of his lips quirked up. He let go of his hold and walked off without a word.

Despite his brave words, he realized that his face was still felt rather hot. Damn again.

-- -- -- -- --

He had done it; he had managed to survive the two hour stocking time with few altercations and minimal awkward embarrassing moments. Perhaps the gods had been looking out for him that day up in the big green drugstore in the sky. He only had to finish putting a last few items away and he was able to go upstairs and get lunch. Then he would forget the whole ordeal for at least another month. The thought was a thrilling one indeed.

"Kudou-kun." Kazahaya jumped and turned around to face his employer that had placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. Everyone seemed to be rather touchy and feely with him today. And why the hell did it have to keep being his left shoulder and arm?

"Kudou-kun," Kakei repeated when Kazahaya only blankly stared at him. "you can go take your break now. Just finish up and throw the boxes in the back." He nodded mutely as Kakei left him to track down Rikuo on the other side of the store and relay the message. Kazahaya quickly shoved the rest of the items on to the shelf in his excitement to leave the wretched aisle behind that he'd spent nearly all morning in. He grabbed the large cardboard shipping boxes and headed back to the storage room that would lead out to the ally behind.

Disposing of the boxes that had caused him nothing but annoyance all day was a joyful occasion. Really, he thought about hopping up and down on them in glee as a method of flattening them but decided if someone happened to come out of the store and see him that way, his employment would be in question. Instead he settled for just enjoying tearing them apart with his hands and giggling silently in his head. Sure boxes such as these would be back in a short four weeks to torture him, but at the moment who ever knew recycling cans could ever make a man so happy?

He smiled as he left the boxes in the alleyway and headed up the stairs to grab some food. Food and tea. He felt he deserved a little quiet time with tea. Girls would be arriving soon to complete his 'perfect' day. But first he would appease his starving stomach and his weary nerves.

-- -- -- -- --

"Thank you and come again!" Kazahaya called from his spot behind the counter as the last customer of the day left the shop. As soon as the customer was half way down the street, Rikuo left the interior of the store to grab the pink plastic bunny mascot and drag it inside for its overnight safekeeping. The other shelves already inside, he reached up and dragged the metal security door down indicating they were finally closed for the day. He turned to regard the surprisingly cheerful shorter young man who smiled back in an unperturbed fashion at his own growing scowl. Why the hell was that idiot so chipper?

"How much cleaning up is there?"

Rikuo gave a relieved sigh as he ran a hand through the black locks of his hair. "None. I did most of it during this past half an hour of dead time. All we have to do is count the till in the register and we can go."

"You can go ahead upstairs and start dinner while I add up and give the money to Kakei." Dark green eyes stared at Kazahaya for a moment, contemplating the offer. As pleasing as it might sound to stay in the drugstore any longer than he had to, he decided he'd let his partner enjoy the pleasures of calculating their sales for the day. Instead, he'd enjoy the warm water of his shower after he set dinner to start cooking. It sounded like a rather fair trade. Rikuo shrugged his shoulders - his form of accepting the deal - and turned around to open the large metal door he'd just partially closed. While the metal slid back down into place after his departure, Kazahaya glared after him mumbling to himself about ungrateful roommates who didn't thank him for kind offers as he opened the cash register to retrieve the money.

Thankfully, due to what had been a slow business day with very few sales, he was done in a relatively short period of time. The money securely placed in a plain brown envelope and tucked under his arm, he knocked politely on Kakei's office door before entering. However the knocking seemed to have done little good as he was greeted with the site of Saiga on top of Kakei, pressing him firmly into the small couch in his office. They were fully clothed mind you, but regardless, perhaps he should have waited for a response before entering. He tried not to think about the likelihood that much more happened on that couch – the couch he often sat on – than just mild making out. But once he thought about _not_ thinking about it…

He blushed and stammered, unsure whether to spin around and leave the room as rapidly as possible or gouge his eyes out with the scissors he saw sitting across the room on Kakei's desk. When both options seemed rather foolish at this point, he averted his eyes from the intimate couple, let out a small cough and quickly rushed to the desk to place the envelope on its metal expanse. "Uh…here's the money…um…for the day."

He nearly sprinted for the door after accomplishing his task in attempts to get away from the uncomfortable situation as soon as possible. However Saiga, as usual, had other plans. "Yo Boy!" Kazahaya turned to look just in time to avoid the flying projectile heading straight for his forehead. Ducking quickly, the object skimmed over the top of his head, brushing against his honey brown locks before squarely hitting the wall behind him. "Are you trying to kill me!?" he bellowed, pointing an accusatory finger at the culprit of his near murder. "Shush, and just find a way to enjoy the present you worked so hard for today," the larger man responded with a lazy drawl and accompanying smirk. Kazahaya was sure he probably winked as well, but couldn't be sure considering the dark sunglasses the man always wore.

There, lying innocently behind him, Kazahaya found the bane of his existence in the world of stocking. He gapped like a fish as the box's contents finally registered in his head and a blush quickly flooded his cheeks. And Saiga didn't help matters any when he gave an evil grin and said, "I'm sure Rikuo-san would be more than happy to help you use them." That lovely suggestion only made the blush deepen in color.

For some unknown reason that not even he could comprehend, much less even begin to try and explain, Kazahaya hastily bent down to retrieve the item and ran out of the room, slamming the office door behind him. Saiga stared at the closed door in shock. "Wow, he took it. I was just kidding. I can't believe he actually took it." He looked away from the door when his lover beneath him began laughing in mirth. The only real indication that he was perplexed at the small chuckles was that a dark bushy eyebrow raised far up past the frame of his glasses. "What?"

"Those were ours I'd like to remind you."

There was a momentary pause.

"Damnit!"

"Best go replenish our supply from those newly stocked shelves so dutifully done by Kudou-kun."

"You know you're lucky you have a continuous supply thanks to you owning a pharmacy."

"You do know I can foresee things, right?"

12/08/06

This was the first part of a three part story, inspired by my newly found love of Legal Drug, in which I became obsessed and wrote a 25 page story during the span of a month or so. Please review to let me know there are readers who are 1) reading the story 2) enjoying it and 3) wish for it to continue. The story as a whole is already completed and only waiting upon your responses. I look forward to seeing you next time dear readers.

-Crystal Delphina


	2. Part II

Disclaimer: I by no means own any of the rights to the Clamp manga story of Legal Drug or its characters.

Third Tuesday

By Crystal Delphina

Completed: December 24, 2006

Revised: April 20, 2008

Part II of III

Kazahaya heaved a sigh of relief when he finally managed to make it to the relative safety of his apartment; the door slammed firmly behind him as he leaned against it for support. Kakei and Saiga were now safely locked far, far away from him downstairs. He wouldn't have to see them till Wednesday evening, considering Kakei had a meeting of some sort he had to attend tomorrow and Saiga would be accompanying him. In fact, he could go to bed early, have nice normal dreams without being haunted by bosses and their lovers frolicking around naked, and possibly sleep in tomorrow. Kakei said they could open the store later than normal, however, it was unlikely his co-worker would let him off so easy.

He allowed himself to sneak a look at the small box still clutched in his hands and regarded it with outright suspicion. Unassuming and plain as it was, he knew it held the secrets to a life he had yet to explore and the gods forbid Rikuo introduce him to such a world as Saiga suggested. However, suddenly those unusual heart palpitations had returned combined now with feeling slightly light headed. Along with a heat that not only invaded his cheeks but also seemed to thread its way down into the pit of his stomach. He definitely felt an unusual… 'twitch' at the thought of Rikuo using those- those- _things_ with him in their intended usage.

"What you got there kitten?" Jumping in surprise, the young man quickly put his hand behind his back at the sound of Rikuo's voice, attempting to hide the item from his roommate's view. So intent on hiding the damning evidence, he even managed to overlook the annoying pet name suddenly adopted by the other male. Normally he would have been irate, but right now there were more important things to worry about. "N-Nothing," the brunette spluttered.

"Really now," Rikuo raised his dark eyebrows in amusement, his interest suddenly peeked with this new bashfulness of Kazahaya's. He decided it would be rather entertaining to see exactly what the other teen was hiding form him. He took a step forward, and then another. Kazahaya attempted to put distance between himself and the suddenly wolfish looking young man by taking a step back – when he remembered the door was directly behind him. Panic overtook his features almost instantaneously and Rikuo gave a small devilish grin. "So…what do you have behind your back Kazahaya?" And Rikuo took another step.

"I-I-I told you…nothing…" Nervous laugher accompanied the flimsy excuse -- and died upon Kazahaya's lips when Rikuo took another step toward him. "Well then, you wouldn't mind showing me your hands right? Since there's nothing behind your back," Rikuo said, smirking at the other boy. Kazahaya, being desperate and nervous, was unable to articulate any type of rationale response that would dissuade his enemy from continuing the intended siege. He resorted to what he had previously stated in hopes that _this_ time the outcome would be different. "There's nothing in my hands." Obviously, that was a foolish strategy.

"You won't mind if I look myself then." And Rikuo was there, right beside him, hands placed on either side of his head against the door and leaning down so his face was alongside his, his mouth resting right above his ear. His warm breath tickled the shell of the sensitive flesh, just as it had earlier in the day. "Right?" And Kazahaya's mouth went dry, absolutely dry and the whole beating heart thing, that had been previously mentioned, was now in a critical state. He was pretty sure that the fact he wasn't breathing, coupled with the irregular heartbeats, spelled certain death for him. 'Panic' was a vast understatement as he launched into full on dread and alarm. Why the hell couldn't his powers involve moving thru walls? Or in this case, very solid doors that prevented him from escaping?

"I-I-I …uh.. um…"

"Come now Kazahaya," Rikuo purred. "show me your 'empty' hands."

"Uh…well…see…"

Rikuo enjoyed seeing the caramel haired teenager squirm like this. Sure, events such as these had become a somewhat daily occurrence, because it was so terribly easy to make the boy blush. But this… It was highly gratifying watching Kazahaya's eyes flicker between panic, terror, embarrassment, and… something else. Rikuo wasn't quite sure what that final emotion was but he was sure his roommate didn't mean to reveal it. Playing with Kazahaya like this, despite how much he would shout and complain, was really satisfying for Rikuo when he could witness those lovely golden eyes glaze over, even momentarily; it was such a rare occurrence but something he knew to be important.

"Show me, Kaza-ha-ya," Rikuo whispered into his ear, drawing out the last few syllables of his name to cause the light haired brunette to visibly shudder, his eyes fluttering shut briefly. "No," Kazahaya managed to breathe out between slightly parted lips, maintaining his resolve despite frazzled senses that had gone into overdrive fearing for his life. However, his breathy 'no' turned into a sudden gasp when he felt fingers slide down onto his shoulder and down the side of his arm, wrapping around to make their way to his hand. Kazahaya froze, unable to act in either a way of resistance or retreat from the black haired boy's touch.

He knew it was all over when he felt fingers slide along his own, and trap his appendages between the waxed cardboard box and the soft flesh of Rikuo's hand. 'Fuck' ran through his head like a mantra. Kazahaya dimly realized he wasn't sure what meaning the phrase really had at the moment, which caused him to mentally curse himself further.

"My, my, what's this we have here?" Rikuo brought both of their hands up between them, the box still held tightly by their entwined fingers. Although it may have seemed impossible, Kazahaya's blush turned an even darker shade of red. However, he didn't fail to note that Rikuo's eyes widened for a split second when he finally took stock of what he was reading on the box's label. The small indication of surprise filled him with momentary joy, but was quickly forgotten when he realized those dark forest eyes were now fixed on him with a questioning stare, barely concealed laughter in the dark depths. "Rikuo…it's not what it looks like. Saiga. He-he gave these to me. As a joke. A joke!" He was babbling at this point to try and make up any reasonable and semi logical excuse.

The silence stretched between the two when his explanations began to dwindle and falter and Rikuo stood transfixed, looking between the box and Kazahaya every now and again. Kazahaya had been well aware that his own breathing was on the heavy side but when he held his breath to try and calm his frazzled nerves, he realized that Rikuo's heavy breathing filled the air as well. Why the hell was _he_ breathing heavily? Upon closer inspection of his roommate, he realized that not only was Rikuo's breathing ragged but that his hands had yet to move, one still beside his head and the other holding his own hand. Additionally, Rikuo's eyes had a rather odd and glazed look about them that only intensified when his gaze shifted to Kazahaya. Rikuo was looking…weird. "Rikuo?" Kazahaya prodded gently, afraid of the unexpected comatose state his co-worker had adopted.

Rikuo recognized he was in a rather delicate situation at this point. However, the full effect of the current state of affairs had taken a while to process. Was poor, sweet, innocent, _naïve_ Kazahaya really holding _these_? Rikuo wasn't sure the boy had such a tight grasp on the box out of necessity or embarrassment. Although he was glad to have the long day at the store be over with and he had rejoiced in previous plans of a long hot shower, dinner, and then bed, he was now rethinking his plans. Scenarios including the empath were beginning to sound mildly appealing; for teasing purposes only of course. Or at least, that was the excuse Rikuo tried to make to himself.

"Rikuo??"

However, he did still want his shower.

"Rikuo!!"

Snapped out of his devious scheming by the worried and frustrated shouting of his roommate, Rikuo's eyes regained their clarity with a new ferocity behind them. Kazahaya shuddered, worrying over what those eyes meant, along with a small twinge of excitement. Wait, excitement? Over what??

Rikuo's head lowered down towards Kazahaya's left ear again and this time the brunette was sure he felt more than just warm breath on his neck. He felt the feather light touches of lips against the shell of his ear, causing him to question his sanity; Rikuo would never do something like _that_. "Ka-za-ha-yaa…" he whispered. The name was drawn out in a precise fashion, his lips brushing against the other's ear as he formed each new syllable. Out of his periphery vision, Rikuo was able to see golden eyes flutter shut again in what looked to be surrender. "W-what?"

"Give me these." To emphasize what he meant, Rikuo began to gently pull on the box that was still latched between their two hands. Kazahaya could have sworn he felt a soft wet tongue against his ear as Rikuo spoke but did his best to ignore the imagined sensation. He reluctantly loosened his grip around the box, allowing the taller young man to take them. Kazahaya vaguely realized that he missed the feel of Rikuo's warm hand on his own, even if it was the briefest of touches. He began to bite his bottom lip softly, more out of a nervous habit than anything else. Because his eyes were still closed though, he didn't see the color in Rikuo's gaze darken in fascination at the small act.

"What are you going to do with them?"

"I'm going to save them."

"For what?" Kazahaya asked, his forehead furrowing into confusion even with his eyes still closed. He was positive he had felt a tongue this time, dipping in behind his ear in a sensitive spot he never even knew he had there. Despite it being an unsettling thought, it had almost been enough to make him gasp, but he quickly bit his tongue. Nothing could have prepared him though for the other psychic's even more unsettling response.

"For when I teach you how to use them."

Kazahaya's eyes shot open immediately, perfecting a classic 'deer in the headlights' look. And they nearly closed again when he felt soft kisses being placed down the side of his neck from his ear to his collarbone. This time he did gasp when he felt Rikuo apply steady amounts of increasing pressure with each kiss so that when he did reach the top of Kazahaya's exposed collarbone, he pressed his lips firmly to the spot. "Ri…Rikuo…"Kazahaya heard a small grunt beneath his chin in answer to his breathy words. The smallest of moans escaped his lips when he felt teeth nip gently at the soft skin of his neck and he could feel the smile Rikuo give in response against his sensitive flesh. However, instead of feeling continued kisses along his neck – that did a remarkable job of heating his skin – he felt Rikuo's lips return to his ear and felt a small nip given to the soft cartilage at the top. "Kazahaya."

"Yea?" Kazahaya bit his lip again and Rikuo had to muster all of his resolve to not let out a small moan at seeing the young man do the innocent gesture. Rikuo vaguely wondered if the light color of pink that dusted Kazahaya's nose and cheekbones was no longer from embarrassment but more from hormones, the thought giving him a small thrill.

"Kazahaya, you need to…" Pausing in his instructions, Rikuo licked the rim of Kazahaya's ear forcing the brunette to suck in a deep breath of anticipation. "You need to go set the table and finish dinner while I take my shower."

The haze that covered the gold of Kazahaya's eyes when he finally opened them rapidly dissipated as realization hit him that Rikuo was serious. The lips that had previously been assaulting his neck in a way he had never even considered before were now smirking at him with barely veiled amusement. However, Rikuo's hand was _still_ on one side of his head, effectively caging him between the door and his co-worker. "You're kidding? Right?"

"Dinner will burn if you wait much longer." With that, Rikuo began walking away, heading for their shared bathroom so he could take a shower. Kazahaya didn't fail to notice that he still held the box at his side.

For a moment the empath stood their shocked and then quickly bristled in righteous indignation. What- what- whatever the hell that had just happened…was most definitely not supposed to have happened. And now the instigator of it all was sauntering away around the corner like a proud rooster. "You…you… You bastard!" Kazahaya finally managed, spluttering and sounding much as his old self, as if Rikuo had only just thrown a shoe at him instead of the potential for leaving a few hickies to appear on his neck. Oh Kami, did he have hickies? From his worst enemy? The thought was frankly mortifying and he rapidly began running a hand down the side of his neck, as if he could feel them to check.

"Kazahaya! Dinner!"

He looked up at the now empty hallway and realized Rikuo was shouting at him from the bathroom. Despite prevailing annoyance at his horrifying roommate, he was hungry and wanted an edible meal, preferably not charred. Therefore, he reluctantly began moving down the hallway to the kitchen, aware that his legs seemed a tad more unsteady than he remembered. He cursed mentally, and realized that seemed to have become a recurring pattern today.

-- -- -- --

Kazahaya sat impatiently in his chair, elbows up on the table with his hands clasped in front of him with his chin resting atop. He wasn't sure if he was impatient because he was truly hungry and eager to start dinner or anxious with the thought of his co-worker coming out of the bathroom any moment now to begin the meal. So far, this third Tuesday of the month was the worst one he'd ever been forced to endure -- or the best. He wasn't sure which. That thought unnerved him as well. Because by all logical counts, it should rank pretty damn high up on 'days to be expunged from history for ever', while at the same time an annoying voice in his head hoped the day wouldn't end anytime soon.

Who the hell's voice was that anyway? Certainly couldn't be Kazahaya's. Maybe it was Kakei using some weird warped mind trick on him. Or Saiga. He still wasn't sure what that man was capable of and it was obvious he had some power of some kind, otherwise he wouldn't be hanging out with Kakei. Maybe it was Rikuo. Maybe he'd finally found some purely sinister way to poison Kazahaya's mind as the ultimate show of torture. What the hell had possessed Rikuo to…to… _kiss_ him like that though? Although Kazahaya was aware he was not as well informed about the finer points of physical relationships as perhaps some people, he did know full well that kisses like that were not meant for strictly friendly purposes.

_Possession_! That was it! Rikuo was possessed. He had to be. Kakei probably set some weird deal up with a client and just chose not to inform either of his employees. He'd have to make a point of collecting pay and a bonus for being harassed like that by a possessed Rikuo. It was quite a sobering feeling when Kazahaya realized that possession was _his _expertise and not Rikuo's. Plus, he was fairly certain that he and some lost soul were not sharing the same vessel at the moment. Damn.

So wrapped up in his contemplation, he didn't notice when the sound of running water stopped. Or a few minutes later when the door down the hallway had opened. He did notice however when suddenly his roommate seemed to appear directly across from him with dark eyes starring at him intently. Really though, he had just been oblivious to him walking in the room and dragging the chair out to take a seat. "Gah! Where'd you come from?"

Rikuo only needed to point at his still wet hair for Kazahaya to remember what a foolish question that was. Instead of making a snide remark of some sort, Kazahaya merely sighed and handed a bowl of rice to the young man across from him along with the meat that had been prepared for dinner. And thus began the 45 minute meal of silence with Kazahaya gazing intently at his bowl as if it held the secrets to the universe in its white grainy depths. Rikuo on the other hand divided his attention evenly between his plate of food and glancing at the rather forlorn looking young man across from him.

The shower had not only been nice but a needed retreat to think as well. Rikuo spent a majority of it standing under the water and scolding himself for his behavior. Gently teasing the smaller young man was one thing; making out with him was downright wrong and unnecessary. What on earth had possessed him to do such a thing? He might have entertained the thought in the back of his mind a few times but he never thought he'd actually act on such an impulse. Except the blushing man had been tempting; just as he had been so many times before. And when he had revealed the intriguing item that had been hidden behind his back, Rikuo had trouble keeping out thoughts of Kazahaya and himself involved together in much more 'adult ways' than they had ever been in the past. Sure they may have kissed a few times, , held hands, or even exchanged tender hugs, those were all in the line of duty and strictly associated with their work. Never had they incorporated physical contact in their confusing relationship that teetered between reluctant friends and annoyed acquaintances. Rikuo had spent a considerable amount of time in the shower and not once during that time did his thoughts stray away from his psychic teammate. When he had shut off the water, and dried himself off with a towel, he realized he still held no real solution to the problem.

What was the problem again exactly? Oh right, Kazahaya more or less hated him and despite a brief, clumsy, and spontaneous moment of 'passion', he was sure the caramel haired boy would not be willing to have a repeat performance. Furthermore, he was unsure if he even wanted a repeat performance. Admitting he wanted to have Kazahaya pressed up against a wall, on the kitchen table, in Rikuo's bed, etc., were all scenarios that ventured into dangerous territory. It meant admitting that Kazahaya was more than just a co-worker, a partner, and a roommate to Rikuo. Hell, it meant admitting that he was even more than just a simple friend. But then again…who was to say he wasn't?

Dark jade eyes steeled their gaze as Rikuo made a decision. It was time to abandon false pretenses and take a step towards a realm he had been interested in exploring for a very long time. He scooted his chair back and began clearing his dishes, done with his meal. Kazahaya still scrutinized his rice bowl, despite most of the contents having been consumed, and refused to meet Rikuo's gaze. Even when the other boy spoke, his eyes did not rise in acknowledgment. "Yo."

"Yea?" Kazahaya replied quietly. Suddenly, a hand swept down and cleared away his plate and glass. "Go take a shower. I'll clean up." This caused Kazahaya to look up towards Rikuo, surprised at the generous offer. Not only did he start dinner but he was willing to clean up now too? This must be a record setting day for the broody teen to be so generous. Kami knew he certainly wasn't most of the time. Not wanting to question Rikuo's generosity or motives for fear of the kind offer being retracted, Kazahaya slowly stood up from his seat. He moved towards the doorway when a hand closed around his shoulder, slowly spinning him around. Nervous gold eyes finally were forced to meet the steady dark green. "W-what?" Kazahaya was petrified with the momentary thought that perhaps Rikuo was going to try and kiss him again. But that'd be silly, right? Wouldn't it?

"You need to give me this," Rikuo moved closer into Kazahaya's body space, causing him to go rigid in trepidation. He _was_ going to kiss him! Even worse, he was demanding that Kazahaya kiss him! He wasn't sure whether to be furious with such a demand or to swoon and fall into Rikuo's arms. Wait…when was swooning ever part of the damn equation? Kazahaya mentally berated himself and insisted there would be no 'swoon' involved during any interactions with Rikuo. The idea was just preposterous.

Rikuo leaned forward slightly, and Kazahaya prepared himself for the ki-

for the bowl to be taken away from him?

He blushed profusely when he realized he had mistakenly left the table with the rice bowl still clutched in his hands and Rikuo had merely stopped him so he could wash it. They both held the bowl now and he was briefly reminded of the incident in the front entryway just a short while before. The memory was rekindled further when he felt Rikuo's long warm fingers brush his own and over the back of his hand. He realized then that the touch, although brief, had been completely unnecessary and Rikuo was not one who made unnecessary movements. Additionally, Rikuo's other hand was still resting casually on his shoulder, the fingers lightly digging into the soft flesh of his shoulder blade. The feeling sent a small electrical charge through him. "Give me this. And go take your shower," Rikuo repeated, waiting for Kazahaya to release the small black ceramic bowl.

"Oh right." Giving a small nervous laugh, he let the bowl go. Rikuo looked at him a moment longer before turning towards the sink and turned on the water to begin washing dishes. Kazahaya quickly scrambled out of the room, heading for the bathroom. All he wanted at this point was a shower. A cold shower, a hot shower, he really didn't care. He just wanted a locked door between him and the newly confusing specimen of Rikuo. Hopefully, he could wash himself of any possible souls possessing him or lingering spiritual energies he must have picked up from something he touched. Honestly, this was the most confusing third Tuesday of the month he'd ever had the misfortune of having to live through. He just hoped he could make it to bed and go to sleep tonight without going crazy.

-- -- -- --

December 2006

Consider this a Christmas Present. Although I didn't receive a lot of reviews, the ones I did were great, and in addition to that I got close to 200 hits. I'll take that as a good sign. Though, I would appreciate more reviews.

-Crystal Delphina


	3. Part III

Disclaimer: I by no means own any of the rights to the Clamp manga story of Legal Drug or its characters.

Third Tuesday

By Crystal Delphina

Completed: January 23, 2007

Revised: April 20, 2008

Part III of III

It was with great duress that Kazahaya realized his clothes had fallen off of the shelf he'd placed them on before taking his shower and that they now lay in a heap of water and fabric on the floor of the bathroom. Ultimately this meant that Kazahaya had to either: one, put back on his sopping wet clothes and exit the bathroom in this fashion, or two, leave in nothing but towels. Neither option sounded that appealing. Groaning, he finally reached for the fluffy green towels they kept and wrapped one firmly around his waist as best he could, wishing there was a way he could double knot it. He briefly considered grabbing another one to wrap around his shoulders but then decided the cape look had not been an approved fashion statement since he was five and that there'd be no end to the mocking if Rikuo happened to see his ridiculous outfit.

He was being paranoid. There was nothing wrong with just going out in a towel, in fact, he did it all the time. This time was no different. No different whatsoever.

Even though it was no different, he was hoping that Rikuo was in his 'room' on his side of the curtain. Better yet, he hoped that the other teen was still occupied with washing dishes from dinner and his back would be to Kazahaya as he quickly exited the bathroom to race to his side of the apartment. However when he considered it, there had been very few dishes to wash. Looking to the possible bright side, maybe Rikuo was the world's slowest dish washer, aiming to set a record that just happened to outlast Kazahaya's thirty minute shower.

This seemed highly unlikely.

Regardless, he moved towards the bathroom door and pressed his ear against the wood yearning to hear the sound of running water from the kitchen. Although the door didn't provide the best sound quality by any means, he was a little annoyed that he actually couldn't hear anything at all; no water running in the kitchen, no sound of the radio or even the padded footsteps of his roommate walking around their living quarters. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a brief glimpse of himself in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. He was forced to do a double-take. Turning fully towards it and craning his neck, he realized a dark splotch had appeared above his collarbone. Damnit!

Taking a deep breath, he stepped back from the door and regarded it and the mirror with a small amount of contempt. He finally realized that he'd have to leave at some point despite how tempting sleeping in the small bathroom seemed. Damnit, he _was_ paranoid. For Kami's sake he was considering sleeping in the _bathroom_ just to avoid Rikuo. This was ridiculous. With a huff of sudden determination and courage, he flung the door open and proudly marched out into the living room and made the first few steps towards his side of the apartment enclosed by curtains. He would have looked half fearsome if instead of wet clothes he was holding a spear or sword and instead of a towel, he had some sort of armor. Hell, a loin cloth would have looked (slightly) more imposing. Golden fire burned in Kazahaya's eyes, determined to face his adversary, even the curtain in between their bedrooms wasn't drawn closed. He would _not_ let Himura Rikuo make him into a paranoid psychopath that Kakei would be forced to put into an insane asylum just because there was some newly evolved...tension between the two teenagers.

Kazahaya flung his curtain aside in a flurry of white cloth and stepped inside, his head held high, posture straight, and a grim look of determination etched into his features. He surveyed the room with a quick sweep of his eyes and let out a happy sigh. Immediately, his shoulders relaxed and he even gave a small grateful smile. Rikuo seemed to be on his side of the room. Giving a small cheer, he practically skipped with glee over to his dresser in the corner that was beside his bed, happy to be changing his clothes in privacy. Perhaps he could even get into bed and fall asleep before Rikuo could attempt anything further.

Sadly, his skip faltered mid-stride and he jumped when someone cleared their throat from behind him. In fact, he nearly fell forward to the floor in surprise, where he would have been sprawled wrapped up in a towel and wet clothes. Kazahaya was faced with one of those crucial decisions _again_ that he'd been forced to make repeatedly over the course of the day. He wasn't sure if it was worse that his roommate had seen him _skipping_ half naked in only a green towel – or - that his roommate had watched him skipping in only a green towel. Oh… were those options the same? Fuck. That means Rikuo had really seen him…well you get the idea.

The room was eerily quiet; Kazahaya refused to turn to acknowledge Rikuo and Rikuo continued to stand in the space that the partially opened curtain between their two rooms left. Kazahaya had forgotten to shut it all the way previously in the day and had failed to notice when he entered that it was only halfway drawn across the expanse of their rooms. He cursed himself for his stupidity as his thoughts began to race. Both waited for the other to make a move, to say something, to do _anything_. He could feel his heart speeding up again and that electrical current seemed to make its way through his veins again. He could feel his skin begin to heat up, and he was sure it was more than just a blush of embarrassment. He could feel Rikuo's gaze crawling up and down his exposed back, could feel the eyes make their way up his spine in painfully long seconds. He felt warmth strike his center with the thought and a lump form in his throat making it difficult to breath. He couldn't even see the other boy's dark green eyes but he could certainly _feel_ them.

He wanted Rikuo to keep looking at him like that forever. Wait – What?!

Kazahaya heard the footsteps, although they were muffled against the hardwood floors by the socks that the taller young man was wearing. He heard the tentative steps, slow but with purpose; could hear the floorboards squeak ever so softly under the shifting weight. He could hear them make two steps towards him, and then after a moment's pause, turn to take their trek to the space in between their two beds. He heard the mattress shift and springs groan in protest as weight was placed onto the gentle surface. He kept his back to whole production, kept his eyes closed, and only heard the happenings around him. He realized with some dismay that he wasn't sure which mattress it was that had squeaked. He needed to change. He needed to change now and just crawl into his own bed and go to sleep in attempts to avoid this whole mess. At this point, he partly didn't even care that Rikuo was in the room with him, still watching him.

Alright, that may be somewhat of lie. He was mortified at the fact he was prepared to strip down in front of Rikuo. Mortified and filled with unexplainable excitement at the prospect.

The wet pile of clothes dropped from his hands in his urgency to open his dresser drawers and pull out a pair of pants while making sure the towel stayed secured around his waist. Pants were always a good place to start. He shut the drawer with a loud thud, sounding like a sonic boom in the too quiet of a room. He didn't need a shirt at the moment, just to get out of the green towel and into his dark green sweatpants. A shirt could come later. It wasn't as if he didn't walk around shirtless a lot of the time anyway, unlike the psychic whose upper body always seemed to be covered. Kazahaya had noticed that Rikuo would always wear a shirt, even when he was just wearing boxers and – Shit! Boxers! He had nearly forgotten.

He grabbed the handles of the drawer again and pulled, grabbing the first pair of boxers that came into view. He was thankful that they weren't hot pink or some equally embarrassing color at the moment and instead were a tolerable shade of dark green. He was suddenly very annoyed with all of the green that seemed to surround him in his home that was above the Green Drugstore. He promised himself he'd go out promptly tomorrow and buy lots of blues and yellows. Then he realized he had no money.

Losing his fragile nerves to change in front of Rikuo despite feelings of embarrassment, he turned his head ever so slightly to regard his silent room mate – only to discover him facing the opposite direction towards the window. He gave a small sigh of relief. The fleeting feeling of relief vanished however upon realization his coworker was sitting on _his_ bed. Oh well, he'd kick him off in a bit. "Go ahead and change. I promise I won't look," Rikuo drawled never turning to look at the other young man. Inside he gave the appearances of seemingly examining the city skyline as the last traces of day disappeared behind the tall skyscrapers, casting the room with a dim orange glow. It'd be dark soon. Kazahaya gave a small nod, although he realized Rikuo couldn't see this.

Rikuo could hear the sound of the towel dropping to the floor, the soft rustle of fabric being pulled up; Heard Kazahaya struggling to pull the sweatpants over his still slightly damp legs. The snap of the elastic drawstring against Kazahaya's waist, caused Rikuo to briefly imagine what exactly the soft material had just concealed and he had to suppress the sudden urge to pull that elastic hemming away from the pale skin of Kazahaya's hips. Fuck suppression.

Kazahaya felt the briefest of touches at his hip which caused him to freeze. Tentative fingers brushed along his exposed skin on the sides of his torso, becoming bolder with each caress. Soon, hands slid around his waist firmly holding him in place, his back to their owner. He could feel those dark green eyes again on his back and moving to the back of his neck, finally resting on the back of his head, only to slide back down again to restart the process. He felt on fire now; he was sure he was smoldering where hands made contact with him – that he was slowly melting in the intimate hold. He closed his eyes as he was gently directed and urged to turn around in the hand's grasp to face his captor.

"Open your eyes Kazahaya," Rikuo whispered gently, his thumbs making small circles on the skin of Kazahaya's hip and torso. Shuddering from the touch and the sound of Rikuo's voice, Kazahaya shook his head slightly in embarrassment. Something larger than butterflies felt as if they were fluttering wildly in his stomach and the thought of having to look at Rikuo only made the fluttering worse. In all honesty, the butterflies were not only made from nervousness and embarrassment but also a very distinct feeling of fear and dread. What was all of this? What was going on? And… what would happen if he really did open his eyes to discover it was Rikuo playing some cruel sadistic joke on him? What scared him the most was that… he wasn't sure what _he_ wanted at the moment.

He…he wanted…

"Kazahaya. Please. Open your eyes."

He wanted….what did he want?

"Look at me Kazahaya," Rikuo repeated again softly.

"Rikuo…" Kazahaya faintly breathed out, eyes still closed, refusing to look up at the taller boy in front of him. Rikuo, still keeping a hand firmly against the brunette's hip, moved his right hand to gently take Kazahaya's left hand that was clenched at his side. As soon as he touched the pale knuckles, the fist relaxed allowing for Rikuo to grip the hand. Applying a bit of pressure against Kazahaya's back and softly pulling at his hand, Rikuo began guiding Kazahaya onto the bed he himself was currently kneeling on. When Kazahaya's knees bumped against the soft mattress, Rikuo pulled a bit harder in insistence. Complying with the unspoken request, Kazahaya bent his knees and moved onto the bed to kneel on it as well, shuffling forward a bit so eventually only his feet hung off the edge. When he attempted to lean back on his legs to sit, the hand at his back pressed a bit harder, urging him to remain upright to which he submitted.

When Rikuo's hand left his own, he was curious to know where the wandering hand would appear next, only to be surprised by feeling slightly calloused fingers cup his cheek. The rough pad of a thumb was stroking his cheekbone, when he suddenly felt the soft lips of his teammate at the corner of his right eye, just a gentle pressure against the sensitive skin there. He couldn't stop his eyelids from fluttering from the brief contact but he managed to keep them firmly shut. He managed to keep his eyes closed even as Rikuo began to place small kisses to his cheek, his temple, his forehead, his nose, and the side of his mouth. And as a pale dusting of a blush began to color his cheeks and as he felt difficulty in drawing breath – he still kept his eyes closed.

He wanted…

"Please let me see your eyes," Rikuo requested again, pausing in his kisses. He was quickly beginning to fear that perhaps his co-worker really didn't have any interest in pursuing anything past friendship and his actions were only serving to make the young man uncomfortable. Those gold eyes would show the truth. However, the voice that finally replied was so quiet and small, he was unsure if he even heard it correctly. "I'll open my eyes," Kazahaya took a deep breath, attempting to steady his slightly shaking voice. "only if you promise that…you're not just playing a cruel joke on me."

Although a pain shot through Rikuo's heart at Kazahaya's sad plea, he ignored it. He supposed in some regards, Kazahaya's request was a valid concern. "I promise."

Kazahaya's eyes slid open slowly to take in the black haired teenager in front of him, who was kneeling on the bed in the same fashion as himself. Rikuo looked… as he almost always did; stern and sincere. However there was the glimmer of a new light in his eyes, one that Kazahaya was not familiar with. He was surprised at the thrill that seemed to vibrate throughout his body at _seeing_ Rikuo in front of him, both of those hands on his own smaller frame. He even gave a small thought of appreciation to the still slightly damp hair, due to Rikuo's previous shower, that hung in small chunks. And although he was wearing his standard long sleeved black shirt, the sweatpants he wore hung a bit low on his hips due to all of the shuffling around on his knees. Although his eyes strayed down the exposed skin there at his hips, Kazahaya's eyes shot back up to meet forest green irises. They seemed to pierce straight through him.

"Why…?" the empath asked softly, letting the question trail off and hang above the space between them. "If this isn't some new cruel way of teasing me… than why?" Rikuo seemed to take a moment in consideration, not replying immediately, instead continuing to stare intently at Kazahaya, until the light blush deepened an incremental shade. Finally, shuffling closer to the smaller male, the space between them decreased so only a 5 inch or so gap remained. "Because, I want to. I want to be close to you; to feel you," he said, determined to convey his full meaning by gazing intently at the teenager across from him. Kazahaya began to open his mouth, but was unable to get a sound out before Rikuo promptly cut him off.

"And I don't just mean physically. I want to…" Rikuo faltered, struggling with the words and unsure as to how to proceed. Rikuo had spent a significant amount of time distancing himself from people and to have that be put in jeopardy now was troubling. To a degree, he was still very uncertain himself as to what he really wanted. "I want to…get to know you…be closer to you," he finally managed, finally shifting his gaze away in his own show of embarrassment. This was the extent of what he could offer to Kazahaya at this time; and all he could allow himself to give.

Kazahaya had been completely unaware that Rikuo could have such feelings and was shocked and surprised not only by the fact that he did, but that he would actually be willing to admit to having them. He was further surprised when he found himself wrapping delicate fingers around the wrist of the hand that still cupped his cheek, while his other hand found its way to Rikuo's shoulder. There were no words, because Kazahaya stopped thinking when he lurched forward to kiss Rikuo firmly against the lips. They both momentarily froze in amazement at Kazahaya's initiative, while wide eyes locked in astonishment at the situation. Kazahaya broke the kiss and quickly pulled back as far as Rikuo's hands would allow him. That was his first kiss! Well… his first real one at least! "I-I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me .I just – mmph!"

Rikuo's lips did a remarkable job of managing to cut Kazahaya off mid-sentence as he pulled the smaller young man firmly against him, the hand he had placed on Kazahaya's hip sliding instead to the small of his back. In response, Kazahaya moved his hand from Rikuo's shoulder to the nape of his neck, his fingers weaving into the black locks found there. Exhilarating shocks seemed to course through both of their bodies as Rikuo's kiss became more insistent, to which Kazahaya replied with equal intensity. Kazahaya felt Rikuo's mouth open ever so slightly to allow his tongue to sneak out and give a delicate lick to Kazahaya's sensitive lips. Quickly picking up on the hint, the brunette parted his lips to permit Rikuo's curious tongue to dart into the warm cavern of his mouth. At first unsure what to do with the curious and foreign, although pleasurable, feeling of someone else invading his mouth, Kazahaya allowed Rikuo to explore at his own discretion. He felt the dark haired male begin to coax him into a responding when the hand against his back began to rub in small circles and Rikuo's tongue mimicked a similar action against his own.

Although new to the whole affair of 'making out', Kazahaya quickly became a diligent and responsive student, copying Rikuo's actions to the best of his ability. It wasn't long before he found himself pulling on Rikuo's neck, urging him to deepen their kisses, and his other hand sliding around his back, clutching the material of the black shirt tightly in his strong fist. Even when they would momentarily break the heated kiss to suck in a few needed precious breaths of air, Kazahaya's lips would begin assault upon Rikuo's jaw and neck before the other pulled him back into a kiss.

He felt as if he needed to be closer to Rikuo. He had never felt this way before, not about anyone, but at the moment all he wanted was to be closer. To feel Rikuo's skin against his own, to touch and caress it all; to memorize every line and detail found there. Although thoughts such as these would have normally have made him turn a shade similar to that of a fire truck, these thoughts only caused him to grip the boy in front of him harder and to deepen their kiss. There were no feelings of awkwardness, no need to explain oneself or look for reasoning. All he wanted was Rikuo.

So it was with these feelings and thoughts coursing through his mind that Kazahaya began to grab for the hem of Rikuo's shirt, attempting to pull it up, to expose that skin he wanted to see and touch. He had never anticipated Rikuo breaking their kiss and pulling back suddenly from the intimate grasp they had on each other. Rikuo's mouth still hung partially open due to his gasping for breath and apparent shock at Kazahaya's action as his eyes began to search the hazy gold of his roommate's.

Forget Kazahaya's previous statement of 'no feelings of awkwardness' between the two. He mentally began panicking. Had he done something wrong? Granted he was by no means an expert, but he knew that that type of response from Rikuo did not seem to bode well of his actions. "What's wrong?" he asked panting, and trying to decipher the look in Rikuo's eyes. The cloudy desire previously found within the jade depths seemed to have been pierced by a subdued graveness. Rikuo took a large deep breath and reached to grab Kazahaya's hand that still limply clung to his shirt, bringing it between their two bodies. Holding the hand that seemed especially tanner in comparison to his own paler skin tone, he noted that it was shaking slightly. From excitement or fear, he was unsure, and frowned in response; he certainly hadn't meant to scare the empath, he had just felt it necessary to –

"We… should stop," Rikuo said finally, still looking at their hands. He didn't see the flicker of dismay in Kazahaya's golden eyes or the lowering of his head in shame, his bangs shadowing the features on his face in the now dimly lit room. However, he couldn't miss Kazahaya withdrawing his hand and pulling out of his grasp. "You regret –"

"No!" Rikuo nearly shouted, hastily grabbing for the hand and taking a firm grip of Kazahaya's shoulder. Kazahaya flinched with the contact and harsh refusal but averted his eyes from meeting Rikuo's stern gaze. "I don't regret this. I just think… that'd it would be for the best if we stopped right now. I don't want to rush anything." Of course he wanted more with the other young man but not tonight. Not when they still had more to learn about each other. Not when Kazahaya may regret it in the morning. Not when Rikuo wasn't quite ready to show all of his secrets.

Deliberating the words carefully, Kazahaya finally looked at Rikuo and after another moment of consideration, finally agreed by giving a small nod of his head. Feeling they had reached some type of conclusion for the night, Rikuo gave a squeeze to the hand and then began to slide backwards off of the bed. "We should get some sleep. We still have work tomorrow."

"What? It's only 9."

"It's 10:42 Kazahaya," Rikuo replied flatly but mirth evident in his eyes. Kazahaya looked over to his bedside clock too see it was in fact later than he had thought. "Man, that means we missed watching Lonely Bakery. We always watch Lonely Bakery on Tuesday nights," Kazahaya said and couldn't seem to prevent the slight whine from entering his voice. Rikuo merely scoffed and rolled his eyes in response. "I can't believe you love that show so much."

"Hey! You watch it too!" Kazahaya accused. "Only because you make me. The show is rather boring if you ask me," Rikuo replied, giving a shrug of his shoulders. "Liar! I saw you when Mizuko was worried about Arumata after that car accident. You were practically about to burst into tears and start crying like a big-" Suddenly Kazahaya found himself tackled to his bed and pinned down underneath the larger teen who was struggling between maintaining a glare and smirking down at the empath. "You didn't see anything, and if you ever tell anyone you did, you'll regret it," Rikuo growled out, his voice low and most likely more playful than what he had really been hoping to accomplish with his empty threat.

"What'll you do?" Kazahaya responded bravely, attempting the best glare he could muster. It was a rather pitiful attempt to say the least, made worse by the fact he couldn't stop the large grin spreading across his face.

Of course he already knew what Rikuo would do as 'punishment'. It was so painfully obvious and cliché, it would be impossible not to know. So when Rikuo slowly brought his head down to within reach of Kazahaya's, the caramel haired boy's eyes fluttered close in anticipation. He felt the warm puffs of air against his lips, and began to tilt his head so he'd be closer to the kiss he wanted to receive.

That was when he felt a warm wet tongue lick the tip of his nose. His eyes burst open in annoyance. "You! Bastard! I – I ! Argh! I can't believe you sometimes!" He tried his best to hit Rikuo, however his hands were quickly pinned down by the larger boy who was rather close to laughing at Kazahaya's outrage but settled for merely smirking down at him. The golden-eyed teen was left with the option of only fuming and glaring up at his co-worker, this time being quite successful in his endeavors.

The excitement from the moment slowly began to dissipate and Kazahaya and Rikuo were left in a moment of stillness, where only soft breathing could be heard and the occasional shifting of fabrics. They kept starring at one another, the glare from Kazahaya and the smirk from Rikuo long forgotten, and began to feel as if they had remained that way for hours. In reality, it was only a few minutes. Silence enfolded them in the moment and it began to feel as if they were waiting for something to happen – they just needed someone to make the first move.

Rikuo decided upon a course of action. Giving a small and quiet, "Goodnight", he began to slide off of Kazahaya and the boy's bed. "Wait." Rikuo turned towards the smaller man who was biting his lip, indicating he was nervous. "Could you…stay? And sleep with me I mean. In my bed." Raising an eyebrow in surprise and amusement, Rikuo at first didn't make a move in either direction of leaving the bed or joining his roommate back on it. Finally, tentative fingers reached behind Rikuo to rest on his back and gently push down, urging him to return to Kazahaya's side. Succumbing to the ministrations, the black haired teen finally swung back onto the bed and, after Kazahaya had moved to the side, settled down beside his companion. He hesitated a moment before finally wrapping his arm around Kazahaya's waist and pulling the brunette against his side.

It took a moments for them to find comfortable positions and to relax. It was awkward to share a bed with someone to whom you normally displayed adversity to the thought of even drinking from the same straw as them. Finally though, after much shuffling and a few grunts of pain and annoyance, Kazahaya's head was resting upon Rikuo's chest while the other boy held him in his arms. Rikuo recognized that most likely his arms would fall asleep during some point of the night, or within ten minutes, but he was willing to make the sacrifice for their moment of peaceful solitude.

However, for the record, Kazahaya still felt rather… odd. The whole thing was odd. Good, but certainly odd and weird.

He could feel himself beginning to gradually drift into sleep, his breathing slowing, his eyes slowly beginning to close because of how heavy they suddenly felt. Any second now he'd be asleep - with Rikuo sharing his bed. In fact, not just Rikuo sharing his bed but actually Rikuo and him cuddling. Cuddling! This third Tuesday of the month was definitely going down in record books as the strangest day Kazahaya had ever had to experience. Yes, it was even going to beat out many of the outlandish missions he had been forced to go on. This was just a whole new realm of bizarre. For the record, he still despised third Tuesdays. Regardless of late night outcomes, he still had to do the stocking during the day and endure the relentless teasing from Saiga. However, if Tuesdays would end in this fashion from now on, he may be more willing to endure the day without as much complaint.

Who ever knew he'd end up kissing Rikuo? And have a hicky to prove it? And even more amazing, that he'd _like_ it??

"Shut up," Rikuo growled out, in a voice laced with drowsiness, interrupting Kazahaya's thoughts. "What? I didn't even say anything," the empath murmured back.

"I know, but I can still hear your thoughts. So shut up so I can sleep."

"You don't even have that power; Kakei does," Kazahaya accused, yawning partway through the statement. "I'm still psychic, which means I can still hear and feel some things. And I can hear you thinking. So shut the hell up and go to sleep," he replied, grumbling and shifting to try and readjust limbs that were already beginning to go numb. Kazahaya opened his mouth to protest, considered it, and took the wiser course of action to just drop the subject and nuzzle his head against his roommate's chest. Remember earlier how he wouldn't be caught dead 'swooning'? Right, swooning was bad, but nuzzling had apparently been deemed acceptable. "Fine. Goodnight Rikuo." He heard what sounded like a gruff, "G'night" in reply, and then felt lips pressed firmly against his forehead.

Unbeknownst to Kazahaya, his little 'gift' from Saiga was stashed away under Rikuo's bed to be used at a later date. Let's just say that Rikuo was hopeful that they would get to use the condoms before the shipment next month on the third Tuesday. And hopefully that day would prove to be just as amusing when it came to teasing poor Kazahaya Kudou.

-- -- --

1/23/07

Thank you everyone for your continued reviews and support. I really did appreciate it considering this was my first Legal Drug fic. In all likelihood, there will be a sequel, but anyone that has read previous works of mine knows how long a promised sequel/chapter/update of any kind/etc. can take for me. However, the sequel has a very bare bones skeletal frame to start working off of right now. To be honest, the desire is to have the rating go up in the following fic. But we shall see. Thank you again.

-Crystal Delphina


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